Convenience products such as pre-packaged potato flakes are popular because varying portion sizes can be prepared in a relatively short amount of time.
Consumers also have enjoyed the availability of many products which can be prepared in varying portion sizes such as the instant pasta dish disclosed in Rothenberg et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,247. Rothenberg et al. describes a process for coating dried pasta with a heated fat which melts at a temperature above room temperature, and which is coated with dry ingredients and coated again with fat to encapsulate the dry ingredients. Because the seasonings are applied to the surface of the pasta, any amount of the pasta can be prepared, and the correct amount of seasoning applied to that portion is assured.
Products have been developed which can be prepared in varying portion sizes and which employ fat as a component of the product coating. For example, Kassens U.S. Pat. No. 3,615,647 describes an animal food coating comprising a layer of melted fat such as tallow, coated with an aqueous solution of dextrinized starch. When the water is evaporated from the starch solution, the animal food pellet and fat is encapsulated. In this product, the melting temperature of the fat is relatively unimportant because the starch is capable of encapsulating the fat, regardless of whether the fat is in a substantially solid or liquid state.
Another example of a food product having a fat component in its coating is described in Van Hulle et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,551. In this example, a puffed food product is described which is coated with an edible fatty triglyceride such as coconut oil or corn oil, and then is coated with dehydrated cheese solids. There is no criticality to the melting point of the edible fat.
Ramos et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,636 describes a coated rice and sauce dish including a rice substrate, a layer of oil coating, a layer of portion controlled sauce-forming ingredients and an outer layer of oil coating. A partially hydrogenated vegetable oil that is a liquid at room temperature can be used to form this product. There is no criticality to the temperature at which the oil layers melt.
McDonald et al. U.K. patent 1,293,527 describes a process for making a controlled portion mashed potato product from dehydrated potato flakes, edible fat and edible powder. The edible fat sprayed onto the flakes must be heated if the selected fat is a solid at room temperature.
Rasmusson U.S. Pat. No. 3,582,336 describes a coating, or "cladding component" for cereal products such as flakes, puffed cereal, shredded cereal or germ. The cladding component includes a vegetable oil which is substantially solid at room temperature, milk solids and sugar or a sugar substitute. Examples of suitable vegetable oils are corn oil, cotton seed oil, olive oil, palm oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil and mixtures. The oils are modified such that the oil melts between about 96 and about 110 degrees F. The modification also increases the shelf life of the oil. The mixture is sprayed onto the cereal products. The mixture can also be used as an adherent of other particles.